The invention relates to a process for combining a plurality of completed printed products, in particular completed newspapers and/or periodicals, into bundles, in the case of which completed printed products are retrieved from at least two storage arrangements and fed to a receiving conveyor, whereupon the products which follow one after the other in the region of the receiving conveyor are combined into bundles. Completed printed products are, in particular, end products which have already been combined.
Such a process is known from European Patent EP 0 272 398 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,910. According to these patents, there are provided a plurality of storage arrangements which are designed as winding stations and transfer products to a receiving conveyor, it being possible for, for example, a fork-lift truck or a delivery truck to be provided at the outlet of the receiving conveyor in order to receive the products.
The disadvantage with this is that the sequence in which the products are arranged on the receiving conveyor is not highly flexible. In particular, it is not possible for products which follow one after the other on the receiving conveyor and each have an individual, different composition to be combined into bundles.
It is an object of the invention to develop a process of the type mentioned in the introduction such that it is possible to combine, with the highest possible level of flexibility, bundles which differ from one another in terms of type, number and/or sequence of the products which follow one after the other within a bundle.
The above and other objects and advantages are achieved according to the invention in that from at least two storage arrangements, which are occupied by completed printed products of different types, products are retrieved individually from the storage arrangements in a sequence which is necessary in each case for a bundle which is to be combined. The retrieved products are fed to a receiving conveyor, with certain products being positioned upstream of, or between, products which have already been fed to the receiving conveyor, and the products which follow one after the other in the region of the receiving conveyor are combined into bundles.
According to the present invention, the storage arrangements are thus designed such that, in accordance with requirements, individual products can be retrieved, and fed to the receiving conveyor, at the necessary points in time in each case, it being possible for the products retrieved, depending on requirements, to be positioned not just at the end of the products which follow one after the other on the receiving conveyor but also upstream of, or between, products which have already been fed to the receiving conveyor.
The capacity for individually retrieving the products from the storage arrangements makes it possible to combine, for each individual bundle, products which differ from one another in terms of type and the number thereof which occur in the respective bundle.
Depositing products upstream of, or between, products which have already been positioned on the receiving conveyor makes it possible, on the one hand, to vary to a considerable extent the sequence of the products which follow one after the other within a bundle and, on the other hand, to position on the receiving conveyor a comparatively high number of products per length section of the receiving conveyor, with the result that it is possible to achieve maximum utilization of the receiving conveyor.
The process according to the invention thus makes it possible to combine individual bundles in which the number, type and sequence of products correspond, for example, precisely to the route of an individual who delivers newspapers or periodicals, it being possible for bundles which follow directly one after the other to be structured completely differently xe2x80x94depending on the order route.
It is preferred if receiving positions which follow one after the other are defined in the region of the receiving conveyor, each receiving position being suitable for receiving precisely one product or else a plurality of products. By defining receiving positions in this way, it being possible for said positions to follow one after the other in an equidistant manner, in particular, in the region of the receiving conveyor, the process according to the invention is easier to carry out since, with knowledge of the receiving positions which are present per length unit of the receiving conveyor, it is easier to determine or calculate the time sequence of the product transfers taking place from the storage arrangements to the receiving conveyor.
It is particularly advantageous if each product fed to a receiving position is retained actively, in particular by means of a clamp or a gripper, therein since this makes it possible for products to be transferred quickly and reliably from the storage arrangements to the receiving positions without the products being able to slip, for example, in the region of the receiving conveyor. In particular, in the case of this variant, individual further processing of the products transported on the receiving conveyor is possible since the products, which are retained individually by means of clamps or grippers, can easily be fed to different further-processing processes.
Products can be transferred particularly easily from the storage arrangements to the receiving positions of the receiving conveyor if each product fed to a receiving position is retained from beneath, for example, by means of a gripper or of a clamp, with the result that the products are transported in a lying or standing, but not hanging, position in the region of the receiving conveyor.
As an alternative to the products being actively retained, however, it is also possible for the receiving conveyor to be designed as a straightforward conveying belt, as a belt with protrusions or as an arrangement of product pockets which follow one after the other.
In order to ensure that the products are transferred from the storage arrangements to the receiving conveyor in a friction-free manner, said transfer of products may be controlled such that products are only ever transferred in each case to free receiving positions not yet occupied by a product. This makes it possible to avoid the situation where one receiving position is assigned two or more products. Alternatively, however, it is also possible, in certain situations, for one receiving position to be specifically assigned two or more products, to be precise, in particular, when the sequence of the products retained in a receiving position corresponds to the ultimately desired sequence in the bundle.
It is preferable if, before products have been combined into bundles, the time sequence in which the products are transferred from the individual storage arrangements to the receiving conveyor, or calculated by means of an optimization algorithm, is determined for each storage arrangement in dependence on the occupancy of the latter by products, the position thereof on the receiving conveyor and the desired combination of the bundles which are to be produced. This determination or calculation may be carried out both before the process according to the invention takes place and as it takes place, the last-mentioned variant also being able to take account of sudden changes to requirements.
It is particularly advantageous if, when products are fed to the receiving conveyor, gaps, i.e. xe2x80x9cprogrammedxe2x80x9d gaps, are created specifically between individual products in order for at least one further product to be fed subsequently in the region of the gaps produced. These gaps may be dimensioned specifically such that one, two or more products may be deposited subsequently in the region of the gaps, it being necessary to take into account, for the dimensioning of the gaps, both the distance between adjacent receiving positions and the length of products which have already been deposited, are projecting into the gap and thus possibly overlap certain receiving positions.
In order to allow more straightforward further processing of the bundle units which follow one after the other in the region of the receiving conveyor, it is possible for a gap to be produced in the region of the receiving conveyor between the last product of one bundle and the first product of a bundle following said bundle. Once a bundle has been delivered in full, there is thus always a certain amount of time, at the end of the receiving conveyor, for preparing for receiving a further bundle.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, when products are fed to the receiving conveyor, gap sections are created specifically between individual products in order for products assigned to at least one complete bundle to be fed subsequently in the region of the gap sections produced. It is thus possible for the products of one or more complete bundles to be deposited on the receiving conveyor subsequently in the region of said gap sections.
It is particularly preferred if at least individual products are dimensioned, and oriented in the region of the receiving conveyor, such that, once they have been assigned to a receiving position, they overlap at least one adjacent receiving position. This makes it possible to form, in the region of the receiving conveyor, an imbricated formation which ensures the best possible utilization of the receiving conveyor. In this case, the products may overlap at least one adjacent receiving position in the conveying direction of the receiving conveyor, that is to say that, in this case, the product, which is retained, for example, in a clamp or a gripper, precedes the clamp or the gripper in the conveying direction of the receiving conveyor.
When the abovementioned overlaps occur, it is advantageous if the transfer of products from the storage arrangements to the receiving conveyor is controlled such that products are only ever transferred in each case to free receiving positions not yet occupied by a product or not overlapped by a product. It is preferably taken into account here that different products may also have different dimensions, i.e. different products may overlap different numbers of adjacent receiving positions in each case. This ensures that, despite the overlapping which occurs, each product fed even subsequently in the region of a gap is transferred in each case to a receiving position which is ready for the receiving operation.
It is advantageous if, in the case of the abovementioned overlaps, each receiving position may be assigned three different states, namely the xe2x80x9cfreexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9coccupiedxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9coverlappedxe2x80x9d states, since the software-related control of the process according to the invention is made easier in this way.
Even when said overlaps occur, it is possible, before products are combined into bundles, for the time sequence in which the products are transferred from the individual storage arrangements to the receiving conveyor to be determined, or calculated by means of an optimization algorithm, for each storage arrangement, to be precise in dependence on the occupancy of each storage arrangement by products, the position of the storage arrangements on the receiving conveyor, the dimensions of the products and the correspondingly produced receiving-position overlaps, and the desired combination of the bundles which are to be produced. Such a determination or calculation may also be carried out before the process according to the invention takes place and as it takes place.
It is advantageous, in principle, if the products are positioned on the receiving conveyor such that, once they have passed the last storage arrangement in the conveying direction, they overlap one another as far as possible, with the result that the bundles which are to be combined at the end of the receiving conveyor can be produced in an extremely short period of time. Accordingly, it is thus advantageous if the receiving positions of the receiving conveyor are spaced apart from one another by the smallest possible distance.
In order to avoid the abovementioned overlaps of receiving positions, it is also possible, as an alternative, to provide, between storage arrangements and receiving conveyors, guide elements which run along with the receiving conveyor and retain in a largely vertical or sloping position the products which are located on the receiving conveyor. These guide elements form pockets which are open, as it were, to the top and bottom, with the result that, on the one hand, the products retained by the guide elements may be retained from beneath by product-receiving means of the receiving conveyor and, on the other hand, products may be fed from the storage arrangements to the receiving conveyor from above.
As a further alternative, it is possible for the products to be retained in the region of the receiving conveyor in an inflected or bent state by specific grippers, such that a stiffening of the products is achieved.
Since, in the two last-mentioned cases, there are no overlaps of receiving positions of the receiving conveyor, each receiving position which is not yet occupied may in this case be fed a product at any point in time.
A high level of efficiency of the process according to the invention may be achieved, for example, when the storage arrangements along the receiving conveyor are spaced apart from one another by the smallest possible distance since, in this way, all the products may be transferred to the receiving conveyor in a comparatively short length section of the same.
Such a small distance may be achieved, in particular, by carriages which are transported along a guide path and each bear a controllable gripper. In this case, the carriages, which can be conveyed, in principle, at variable distances from one another, butt directly against one another in the region of the conveyor in order thus to permit the abovementioned small distances between them.
Preferably in each case only products of one type are stored in each individual storage arrangement, but it is also possible, in principle, to store products of different types within a storage arrangement.
The bundles which are to be produced may each contain two or more different products, but it is also easily possible for the process according to the invention to produce bundles with just one type of product.
The bundles produced according to the invention may contain different numbers of products or the same number of products. Alternatively or additionally, it is possible for the type and/or the sequence of products which follow one after the other within a bundle to differ from one another from bundle to bundle. However, it is also possible to combine bundles which are identical to one another in terms of type and/or sequence of the products which follow one after the other.
The storage arrangements used according to the invention can be used efficiently, in particular, when the products, in the region of the storage arrangement, are retained, in particular by means of clamps, in product-receiving means provided in each case for receiving just a single product. This makes it possible for individual products to be retrieved without difficulty from the storage arrangements and for the products to be transferred reliably from the storage arrangements to the receiving conveyor.
In order to achieve a maximum capacity of the storage arrangements, the product-receiving means of the storage arrangements are spaced apart from one another by the smallest possible distance.
Particularly reliable transfer of products from the storage arrangements to the receiving positions of the receiving conveyor is achieved, for example, when the products are transferred directly from the product-receiving means of the respective storage arrangement to the receiving positions of the receiving conveyor, in particular transfer from a clamp of a storage arrangement to a clamp of a receiving conveyor taking place.
For the purpose of synchronized retrieval of the products and of correspondingly simplified programming of the process according to the invention, it is possible for the storage arrangements to be given a joint transfer clock signal.